ambler



(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 1. A. I. AMBLER.

VAPOR FUEL APPARATUS.

Patented May 4 1886.

n 'luul h um:

N. PETERS, PhuurLhhugnpher, Wuhulgwn. 04c

(No Model.) 6 Sheets Sheet 2.

A I AMBLER VAPOR FUEL APPARATUS.

No. 341,308. PatentedMay 4, 1886.

j INT/TENTOR WITNESSES (No Model.) 6 SheetsSheet 3.

A. I. AMBLERQ VAPOR FUEL APPARATUS.

No. 341,308. Patented May 4, 1886.

WITNESSES (No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 4. A. I. AMBLER.

VAPOR FUEL APPARATUS.

No. 341,308. Patented May 4, 1886.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Shet 5. A. I. AMBLER.

VAPOR FUEL APPARATUS. No. 341,308. Patented May 4, 1886.

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A 11 ttorne yJ 7 N. PETERS. Pholn-Lilhognphcn Washington, D. C.

(No Model.) 6 Sheets-Sheet 6.

A. I. AMBLER.

VAPOR FUEL APPARATUS.

No. 341,308. Patented May 4, 1886.

IJVVEJVTOVR Attaineyw J Ji WITNESSES fl 06' M UNITED STATES PATENTOFFIQEO AUGUSTIN IREL AMBLER, OF WASHINGTON, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA.

VAPOR-FUEL APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 341.308. dated yApplicatioufiled February 1, i886.

Serial Nov 190,545. (Nomo eh) To all whom it 17mg concern.-

Be it known that l, AUGUsTIN IREL AM- BLER, of the cityof Washington,District of Columbia, have invented new and useful Improvements in VaporFuel- Apparatus, of

which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to apparatus for producing and utilizingvapor-fuel by the combined use of petroleum or its products and steam,for generating steam and other purposes, or wherever the production ofheat and flame is required, including the supplying of vapor-fuel to theboilers of locomotive-engines, or of marine and othereugines, and tovarious metallurgic and other purposes The invention, however, is moreparticularly designed to be used in connection with locoinotiveengineboilers, or other boilers of thelocomotive type, and it will here bedescribed more particularly with reference to such use.

The invention consists in certain novel constructions and combinationsof parts, whereby the vaporizing of the petroleum or 'oil and mixture ofthe steam with it or its vapors is Very perfectly and economicallysecured, conveniences are afforded for control of the apparatus, andother advantages are obtained, substantially as hereinafter described,and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a .part ofthis specification, in which similar letters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 represents a vertical longitudinal section of alocomotive-engine and tender in part, having my invention applied.Figure 2 is a plan view of the tank or engine-tender in part, withcertain attachments. Fig. 3 represents a plan view of a series of mainor up per tube-burners forming part of the apparatus, and Fig. at is aplan view of a series of lower tube-burners with certain attachment-s.Fig. 5 shows a view in perspective of the upper and lower series ofburners with interposed retorts of the apparatus, together with sundryconnecting-pipes, including the operating pipes and valves forregulating and controlling ilow of vapor from the multiple retort to theupper and lower tube-burners. Fig. 6 is a top or plan view of theretorts in a series of six, as coupled together, and with certainoutside pipe-connections and valves. Fig. 7 shows, mainly, a partlysectional side view of the generating portion of the apparatus, or thatpart of it which includes the upper and lower burners, interposedmultiple retort, pipe-connections with said parts, frame-workimmediately connected therewith, and a dripsame upon the lines a; a: andy y in Fig. 10.

Fig. 13 is a plan and sectional view of-a pair of the tube-burners withconnections.

A is a fire-box of theboileroi' a locomotiveengine, or it might be anyother boiler of lo comotive type, and A a steanrdome mounted upon saidboiler. Steam is taken from the said dome by a pipe, b, arrangedtoextend into the cab of the engine or back toward the operator andfitted with a valve, 0, to let on or shut off steam, as required. Thispipe b coinmunicates with a superheater or circulating series ofsuperheating-pipes, B, in the fire-box of the boiler where it is exposedto a high degree of heat, and connects with the burners and retorts, ashereinafter described.

0 O are the main tube-burners used to run the engine, D D the multipleretort or retorts, and E E the burners bclowthe retorts for heating thelatter. These several devices are all located within the lower portionof the fire-box in regular order, one above'or below the other, the mainburners O O being above the retorts and the burners E E below theretorts. The multiple retort D 1') consists of a series of cylinders orouter boxes, (1, arranged horizontally side by side with endcompartments, 6, in them, and numerous interior longitudinal tubes orlines, f, connecting said compartments at the opposite ends of thecylinders. These tubes f are rigidly connected at their one end with afixed head and at their opposite end with a suitably-packed pistonlikehead, to provide for any inequality in the expansion and contraction ofthe inner and outer portions of the retorts. The several retorts whichgo to make up the multiple retort are connected together by means ofright and left hand nipples 9, arranged to produce a return actionthrough the several retorts in succession, as clearly shown in Fi 8; orsaid retorts may be otherwise equivalently connect ed. \Vhere nipplesare used, however, the latter may either have tapering and smooth endsor have right and left hand threads on their opposite ends, as shown,respectively, in Figs. 8, l0, and 11 of the drawings. Bands or straps 9also serve to bind the several retorts together. The burners G G and E Eare also constructed of parallel outer cylinders, 71 connected,respectively, at their opposite ends, and with orificest' in and alongthem, within which burner-tips are or may befitted. These outercylinders or tubes, 71, have a close longitudinal tube or flue, 70,extending through each of them and connected by end elbows, Z, the wholebeing arranged so as to produce a circulation of the steam consecutivelythrough the tubes It. The superheater B connects at its delivery endwith the one end of therear tube, k, of the upper burners, O C, and thesuperheated steam, after circulating by the connections through theseveral tubes is of the bu rners O O, inner tubes, f, of the retorts DD,and inner tubes, k, of the lower burners, E E, passes up by a pipe, m,to near the crown sheet ofthe fire-boxto a valve, 11, to control saidcirculation, and from thence, by a continuation of the pipe m, as shownin Fig. 1, through one of the upper lines, 5', of the boiler to asuction-nozzle, J, in front of said fines at the lower part of the stackK. The steam is thus circulated through the apparatus for the purpose ofheating the various parts of the latter and for the purpose of inducingdraft or suction. The valve in the pipe in is inclosed in a coveringpacked with asbestus to protect it from destruction by the heat.

The steam from the dome-pipe I), after pass ing through the snperheaterB, enters the rear upper inner tube of the burners C from, say, theright-hand side, then passes through the next inner tube of said burnersfrom the left-haud side, and so on, successively, by the elbows andconnections, alternately from the right and left hand sides, tillpassing through each of the five upper burner-tubes or rather theirinner tubes, or any other odd number of said tubes. The steam after thuscirculat-. ing in a close manner through the inner tubes, k, of theupper burners, G, then passes by connecting tube and elbows to thesteam-space e on the righthand end of the first retort D, and fromthence through the tubes or fluesfthercin to the steam-space e on theleft-hand side of said retort, and so ou,from opposite sides,successively, through the inner tubes of the several six or even numberof retorts D D. From the right-hand or finishing end of the retorts thesteam passes down into the righthand end of the first lower tube-burnerE, or rather its pipe is, thence through to the left hand of the nexttube, and so on to the last of the five or other odd number of lowerburnertubes, and from thence by elbow and pipe connections to avacuum-pump or mixing-chamber, F, for the steam and oil or vapor.1ntervening the connection last named is placed a valve, 0, having along stem operated by a secondary upright stem, a, and so connected asto be within easy reach of the operator, for controlling the flow ofsteam into the pump or mixing-chamber, as shown in Fig. 1.

The multiple retort is made of an even number of retorts and thetnbe-burners of an odd number, so that all the connections may come inline and contribute to form a compact apparatus.

The tank or engine-tender is constructed to form an inner oilrcservoir,L, for supplying the retorts D through the mixer F, and an outer watertank or reservoi r, M, for supplying the boiler with water to keep upthe steam. Oil is supplied to the mixer F by a pipe or pipes, s, havingan intermediate valvebox, t, fitted with a valve and valve-stem, a", forcontrolling the supply of oil to the mixer. Said pipes .9 connect in therear with a receiving-chamber, a, in the lower part of the oilreservoirL, near its one end,within which is a valve, a", for retaining the oilin the reservoir L when not in use. Connected with this chamber a is aflexible tube or hose, 2), which carries at its outer end a rose, 20,for supply ing the oil which is lightest and freest from sediment to thechamber a. To this end the rose 10 is kept at or near the upper surfaceof the oil in the reservoir L by a light hollow float. 0, connected withthe flexible tube r.

P P are upper cylinders or chambers on or connected with theoil-reservoir L, for the pun pose of receiving ascending vapors producedeither mechanically or otherwise for use in starting when steam cannotbe obtained. This may be done by well-known means-as, for instance, by aforce-pump and pipe connected with the bottom of the oil-reservoir.

The burners C and E have the passage of vapor controlled to them fromthe retorts by valves and valve-stems a, which valvestems, in commonwith the other valvestems, are all within convenient reach of theengineer. The special object of these lower burners E E is to heat andregulate theheat of the retorts D D, so that the latter may have aregular and uniform heat and retain an even temperature largely withintheir capacity without disintegration orinjury. Said lower burners arearranged within a drip-pan, G, Fig. 7. In this drip'pan I pack tolerablycompact fine asbestus wool c, and fill up the same to about even withthe top of the lower burners, E, for the purpose of catching thedrippings in starting, and into this drip-pan and asbestus I allow atstarting oil of a light grade to flow in small quantities, and at thesame time let on steam or compressed air and IIO .mix with it a smallquantity of alcohol, and

throw in a quantity of burning cotton-waste saturated with oil. The heatthus obtained will in a short time so heat up the retorts as to causeavapor to be generated and an intense flame and heat to be produced, sothat steam will be raised in the boiler much sooner and at less expensethan can be done by the usual means employed for raising steam. Thereare also shown in Fig. 7 two pipes, d (1, run; ning crosswise of thefire-box and constructed or fitted with suitable spraying-tips. The oneof these tubes is designed to carry oil and the other steam orcompressed air, and they are so located and their tips so arranged thatthe jets issuing from the one of them will cross the jets issuing fromthe other, and thus cause them to become atomizing-tubes, which willspray the oil, and by being suitably connected with the steam from anauxiliary boiler or compressed air-chamber, (not here shown,) and withthe light oil in the tank or elsewhere, a flame may be kept up by theseatomizingtubes to assist the apparatus at starting, said tubes formingan additionaladjunct for the purpose.

The upper burners, GO, serve to supply flame and heat to different partsof the boiler, and to give an increased or more effectiveheating-surface. The fire-box or chamber A of the boiler is studded witha series of watertubes, 0, which may either be arranged crosswise of thefire-chamber, as shown in Fig. 1, or be pendent ones from thecrownsheet, accordingly as the boiler is a locomotive or stationary one.

The various valves within convenient reach of the engineer enable him toregulate the flame and heat both in the burners, retorts, and lire-box.of the boiler. The flame may be instantly lighted or extinguished, andsmoke or soot both during ignition and combustion is or may be avoided.

A peep hole or tube, f, is provided in the fire-box to enable theengineer to ascertain the condition or extent of the flame and heat bothat starting the boiler and afterward.

The steam tubes it, running through the chambers of the burning-tubesand connected at opposite ends alternately by means of elbows andcoimectingpipes, are close tubes, there being no perforations or holesfor the passage of steam into the chamber of the burning-tube to mixwith the vapor or to escape in flames; nevertheless the steamcirculating in and through said tubes is live steam, for the reason thata portion of said steam is constantly being used to operate the pump andmix with the oil in the vapor-chambers of the retorts, and passes out ofthe burners in flame and heat and in operating the nozzle J under thecontrol of the valve a in the fire-box, as clearly shown in F1 2. 1.. Bythis plan of device it will be seen that the steam passing through thesetubes It performs three distinct functions: first, heating without theescape of steam the internal chambers of all the burners, and by meansof the connections and the internal tubes the vapor-chambers of all theretorts; second, supplying steam by means of a branch pipe to the pumpand mixing-chamher; and, third, by means of another branch pipeoperatingthe nozzle J in the smoke-stack to create the vacuum required.

In the operation of the apparatus, steam and oil being let into themultiple retort D D from the mixer, as also to the burners, said steameither being supplied from an auxiliaryboiler or from the main boiler,burning waste saturated with oil is conveyed to the lower burners. Thiswill raise a fierce flame and heat, alcohol being added, if desired, andin a short time the retorts will become sufflciently hot to generate ahighly-inflammable vapor, produced from the mixture of the oil and steamin the mixer F, as controlled by the valves for the purpose, andgenerated within .he retorts and escaping by the upper tube-burners, CG. This vapor will cause the fire-box A to be filled with flame andheat, causing steam of a working-pressure to be speedily raised withinthe boiler. When this occurs, steam from any auxiliary source, or air,if it be used instead to vaporize the oil, is shut off, and steam towork the apparatus is taken direct from the main or locomotive boiler,the operator aft ll.

ward regulating his heat both upo i1'tl1e"'ietorts and in the fire-boxby the valves provided for the purpose, and the combination of mechanismis such that the engineer is enabled to so spread the heat and with suchuniformity as to render a high heat destructive to the apparatusunnecessary.

In defining my present invention with respect to the prior state of theart, I would refer (in relation to the retorts, tube-burners,

mixer, and steam-pipe) to my former Patent.

No. 838,461, dated March 23, 1856.

The difference between my present invention and my former Patent No.338,461, dated March 23, 1886, and all other inventions of a likecharacter, as far as known to me, consists of the following distinctivefeatures and functions, namely: lirst, that the burner-tubes and retortsare so arranged that the under series of burner-tubes are immediately orvertically subjaccnt to the retorts, which brings the flame under theretort, while the upper series of burner tubes are alternated invertical planes with the retorts, so as to occupy a place above thespaces between the retorts, and in this arrangement of the burners inrelation to the retorts it will be perceived that the lower series ofburner tubes do not extend out to the end of the series of retorts, butstop short the distance of one retort, which permits me in a simple andcompact manner,consistently with the circumscribed limits of thefire-box, to directly connect the mixer or pump with the retorts aboveby a straight vertical connectingpipe; second, the apparatus is soconstructed as to conduct a continuous flow of steam from the dome ofthe boiler, without any intervening escape of steam,to and through allparts of the entire apparatus until it escapes in flame and heat, andthrough the nozzle J to create a vacuum in the front chamber of theboiler, and this is done by the continuous flow of steam from the domeof the boiler under the control of suitable valves, as follows first, toand through the superheater located in the fire-box instead ofin thefront chamber, as in my for mer patent; second, to and through the upperburners without escape of steam; third, to and through the retorts fromend to end, as in my former patent fourth, to and through the lowerburning-tubes without escape of steam, thence by one pipe to the pumpand mixingchamber controlled by the valve 0, and by an other pipe to thenozzle J controlled by the valve a. By these means I am enabled to holdand retain in all parts of my apparatus abody of steam forinternalheatingpurposes, and use a part only thereof for the pump-mixingchamber and nozzle, and by which means I cheapen the construction,economize its use, and simplify its mode of operation by letting nosteam go to waste and by using the entire volume of steam employed to.advantage.

I disclaim in my present application the construction and application ofthe retorts, the special form of the burning-tubes, and the combinationof the pump and mixing-chamber with the perforated steam-pipe as notembraced in the distinctive features set forth, as such a combination isshown in my former patent, to which reference has been made.

Having thus fully described myinvention, I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent- 1. In apparatus for the production and use asvapor-fuel of petroleum or its products, the combination of the multipleretort D, and the tube-burners C E, provided respectively andcontinuously with inner close steam-circulat-,

ing tubes or passages, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

2. In apparatus for the production and use as vapor-fuel of petroleum orits products, the combination, with the multiple retort D D, mixer F,and tube-burners O E, of the close steam-pipes is within said burnersand the controllable nozzle J, in communication with the steam pipepassing through the lower burner, essentially as described.

3. In apparatus for the production and use as vapor-fuel of petroleum orits products, the combination,with the mixer F, of an even numberofretorts, D D, and odd numbers of upper and lower tube-burners arrangedin relation with the retorts and with each other, substantially asspecified.

4. In apparatus for the production and use as vapor-fuel of petroleum orits products, the combination, with the retorts D, upper and lowerburners, C E, and mixer F, of the drippan G, arranged to receive thelower burners within it, and for use in connection with said lowerburners and with the retorts, substantially as and for the purposesherein set forth.

5. Ihe combination of the atomizing-tubes d d with the lower and upperburners, E O. mixer F, and retorts D, essentially as and for thepurposes specified.

AUGUSTIN IREL AMBLER.

Vitnesses:

SoLoN O. KEMON, GEO. S. BROOK.

